Frequently business owners are battling with the same problem. They’ve spent a lot of money on a sign but still aren’t getting the business they expected.

There are many reasons that this can happen. Unfortunately running a business isn’t as easy as putting up a sign and the customers come flocking in with bills-in-hand. The first step is you have to get them in the door, but then you have to get them coming back.

Maybe your business had a great grand opening but now business has tapered off. If that’s the case, it may not be your sign. Usually your grand opening comes with a lot of flair, specials, unique events and a lot of other advertising (we have a portable gigantic LED full color display that we bring out for our customers’ grand opening to really help them hit the ground running). So once all of that extra jazz is over with business will naturally taper off. But is your lack of traffic normal?

First thing you should do is see if there’s something about the way you are running your business that is pushing customers away. Is the business clean? Is the parking lot bright (most business owners do not place enough value on this one simple, but effective, point)? Is your product good? Is it priced correctly?

Outside of your management issues, look to marketing. Your best marketing will be your sign, so what can you do to your sign to make it more visible? One simple solution is to add neon. Yes, LEDs have taken over the industry but you’ll be surprised how effective good ol’ neon is at pulling in business. Don’t be alarmed by the “it’s fragile” argument. It is a time tested lighting element that has been used on every building type from highrises (the famous downtown Dallas green building) to converted houses. It’s wildly effective, inexpensive, and durable.

Second, look at your storefront. Is the sign effective from a marketing standpoint? The City of Fort Worth describes effective signs in their Downtown Design Review Board guidelines. They make the following observations (and these are good ones!):

Materials and colors should contribute to legibility and visual appeal

Sign colors should complement facade colors (this does not mean the sign should blend in with the background)

A sign with a brief, succinct message is attractive and easy to read

Sign fonts should be both legible and artistic

Contrast between the color of the background and the letters or symbols makes the sign easier to read

Symbols and logos on signs, identifying the business, add interest to the street, are quickly read, and are often remembered more easily than words.

These are very good guidelines to keep in mind when you are thinking about your storefront, your sign and your logo. A good sign company should help you create an effective sign. But don’t trust them too much. Many sign company employees are just as inexperienced with signs as you are.

When looking for advice, find a sign company that has been in business several years. See if they have creative ideas, unique products and a pursuit towards cutting edge technology. Every year there are new products out that can help you stay visible to your customers.

Sign points to Emanuel, Trump faceoff

The last letter in the huge “TRUMP” sign that Donald Trump is putting on his Chicago skyscraper has yet to be installed, but Mayor Rahm Emanuel is ready to pass judgment.

Thumbs down.

“The mayor thinks the sign is awful,” Bill McCaffrey, a mayoral spokesman, told the Tribune on Wednesday. “It’s in very poor taste and scars what is otherwise an architecturally accomplished building.”

The city is exploring options that could lead Trump to remove the sign, according to McCaffrey, though he declined to specify what those options are.

Emanuel’s blunt assessment of the sign, which city zoning administrator Patricia Scudiero and Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, greenlighted last year, sets up a confrontation between two towering figures with no small egos: Emanuel, with a reputation for calculated aggression that runs from Chicago to Washington, and Trump, famous for his “The Apprentice” reality TV show and the slogan “You’re fired!”

An attempt to reach a representative of the 96-story Trump International Hotel & Tower, Chicago’s second-tallest building, for reaction to the mayor’s take on the sign was unsuccessful. Trump will have a chance to respond Thursday during a scheduled appearance on ABC’s “The View.”

Emanuel’s assessment follows my negative review of the sign Friday and national news stories about the controversy.

In one, posted on The Wall Street Journal’s website Tuesday, Trump lambasted the lead architect of his tower, Chicago’s Adrian Smith, for calling the sign tasteless and claimed he had done more to design the building than Smith. And Trump repeated his argument that the sign will become as beloved as the LA’s Hollywood sign.

“It happens to be great for Chicago, because I have the hottest brand in the world,” Trump told the Journal.

Smith had a different view.

“Anything that would happen that would either reduce the size of the sign significantly or take it off would be great,” he said Wednesday night.

To outsiders, the brouhaha stirred by Trump’s sign may seem overblown in a city with many more serious problems, like rampant gun violence. But Chicago takes its architecture and public spaces seriously.

More than 200 feet above ground and backlit at night, the sign and its 20-foot-6-inch-high stainless steel letters loom over a venerable cluster of 1920s skyscrapers, among them the Wrigley Building. The sign, which faces the Chicago River, also threatens to spoil the view from a showcase Emanuel public works project — the ongoing expansion of Chicago’s Riverwalk.

Though McCaffrey said the mayor is not focused on the precedent the sign sets, you don’t need a degree in urban planning to realize that owners of other riverfront buildings could be tempted to follow Trump and plaster their skyscrapers with megasigns. The touristsEmanuel covets already are taking notice.

After a visit to Chicago, Terry Elder, of Toronto, emailed me: “We were overwhelmed with the beautiful buildings when we took the architectural boat cruise on the Chicago River; however, we were totally shocked and dismayed when we saw the sign going up on the Trump building.”

With public outrage over the sign mounting, Ald. Reilly on Friday sought political cover by invoking the memory of the structure that used to occupy the Trump site: the bargelike Chicago Sun-Times Building. It was topped by a large yellow sign spelling out the paper’s name.

“Funny how quickly people forgot the enormous, ugly Chicago Sun-Times sign that once stood in (this) exact location,” Reilly tweeted — as if the absence of the old bad sign rationalized the presence of the new bad sign.

There was no mention of the gargantuan sign when the City Council approved Trump’s skyscraper in 2002. In boilerplate language, the agreement regulating the tower said that “business identification signs” would come under the purview of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development.

In 2009, with the tower already open, the City Council approved a sign of 3,600 square feet, planning department spokesman Peter Strazzabosco said Wednesday in an email.

Last year, after a fresh round of negotiations, the council gave its OK to the present sign, which, when the “P” in “TRUMP” is installed, will cover 2,891 square feet.

Questions about the mayor’s involvement in the sign’s approval were raised in light of Illinois State Board of Elections records that show Emanuel’s campaign got a $50,000 contribution from Trump in 2010. The same year, Trump contributed $5,000 to Reilly’s campaign.

Courts have long upheld the right of communities to regulate signs — provided they articulate standards that are specific, not subjective.

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Taffer’s main philosophy is this: All business is about creating the right reactions in your customers and you can control those reactions to a large degree. Raise the Bar is the definitive manual on transforming a bar or restaurant with actionable, proven strategies for immediate impact.

Widely considered the greatest authority in the food and beverage, hotel, and hospitality industries, Taffer runs the biggest trade show in the business and has turned around nearly 1,000 bars and at least that many restaurants.

As you all know, Jon is the chairman of Taffer Dynamics and President of the Nightclub & Bar Media Group. He’s an industry expert, management guru, and the television star of Bar Rescue. With close to three decades of hands-on experience, Jon is a two-time winner of the Bar Operator of the Year award.

Bars mean money, but they also mean stress if they aren’t properly run. Jon Taffer is a bar and nightclub owner who has started, flipped, or owned over 600 bars and clubs in his career and currently owns one of the most highly respected consulting firms in the bar and nightclub industry. Jon will travel around the country and employ his expertise to return struggling bars to the cash cows they once were. Everything from the science of the perfect pour, to the height of the bar stools is a key factor in making a bar the hottest place in town.

Navarre Taco Bell suffers fire damage

The Taco Bell in Navarre suffered about $100,000 damage when a fire broke out just after 3 p.m. last Friday in the front area of the restaurant located at 8714 Navarre Pkwy.

No one was injured in the fire, and all Taco Bell employees and patrons were able to exit the building safely without incident.

Flames engulfed the upper front of the building as firefighters from Navarre Beach Fire Department, Midway Fire District and Holley-Navarre Fire District worked to stop the fire.

Early reports from Taco Bell employees were that the fire started when someone tossed a cigarette into a flowerbed with mulch in the front of the restaurant, which then caught fire and spread up the front of the building.

The State Fire Marshall’s report, however, indicates that the fire was caused by an unknown electrical issue. The fire has been ruled accidental, and caused an estimated $100,000 in damage, according to Anna Alexopoulos, press secretary of the State Fire Marshall’s Office in Tallahassee.

Sam’s Club Sign in Danger of Falling Down

Published: November 7, 2013

The City of Murfreesboro’s Fire & Rescue, Police, Engineering, and Codes departments all worked together Thursday morning (11/7/2013) to avert a potential sign collapse at the Sam’s Club on John Rice Boulevard.

Murfreesboro Engineer Sam Huddleston notified WGNS that John R. Rice Boulevard was closed to traffic until the damaged sign is repaired. The closure includes no gas being sold at Sam’s until the giant interstate sign is fixed.

The City of Murfreesboro’s Fire and Rescue, Police, Engineering, and Codes departments all worked together to avert a potential sign collapse at the Sam’s Club on John Rice Boulevard. Murfreesboro Police Department first arrived on the scene to discover a broken beam on a 110’ Sam’s Club sign, causing the sign to lean. (see above WGNS News photo)

Murfreesboro Fire and Rescue’s Ladder 9 evaluated the situation and contacted City Engineer Sam Huddleston and the Codes department. All were in agreement of the potential disasters that could occur if the sign were to fall.

Police blocked access and eventually coned off the areas of John Rice Boulevard at Old Fort Parkway and the entrance to Sam’s Club. A collapse zone was also set up in a portion of the parking lot and the area around the fuel pumps.

(Photo below) Yellow tape circles the gas pumps at Sam’s Club, and keeps motorists away from the potential fall zone while crews make repairs to the giant sign.

According to Captain/Shift Inspector Mark McCluskey, Boom Sign Company has three giant cranes in place to assist with repair or replacement of the sign. (see photo below)

“These areas will most likely remain closed for most of the day,” said McCluskey.

Sam’s Club is still open for business; however, shoppers will not be able to use the main entrance to the parking lot.

This is a major correction, and it is not known how long it will take to complete the repairs. In fact, Huddleston remained on-the-scene while crews were correcting the issue.

In the photo below, you can actually see how the two supporting posts are twisted and are not perfectly vertical as they should be.

FORT WORTH – The new Big Hoss TV at Texas Motor Speedway wasn’t designed to beat the Cowboys’ video board at AT&T Stadium.

That was small potatoes.

The 20,633-square-foot screen at TMS, produced by Panasonic, will dwarf them all, becoming what Texas Motor Speedway calls the world’s most gigantic high-definition screen when it is unveiled for the first NASCAR event at the venue in 2014.

The Big Hoss will be 79 percent larger than the screen in Arlington and more than 25 percent bigger than the current king of visual monstrosities, the big board at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

But the biggest capital improvement the race track has ever made isn’t to get into the record books. It’s to serve customers.

“It’s not about being bigger than Charlotte Motor Speedway,” president Eddie Gossage said. “It’s not about being bigger than Cowboys Stadium. It’s about doing the best we can do for our fans. I’ll be honest with you, the first plan I laid out was much larger than this.”

Much larger.

“My first one was 400 feet [wide] and [chairman and chief executive officer] Bruton [Smith], looked at it and said, try again. He agreed all along that we had to be bigger than Charlotte. That’s not the bar.”

The big board has been on the drawing board for years, and Smith signed off on the idea in December. Gossage joked that track officials were waiting “for the right annual percentage rate.

Gossage declined to give a dollar figure for the board. But when AT&T Stadium opened, their screen was valued at about $40 million. It has two sides.

“The company is in a position to do it now,” he said. “I signed the biggest purchase order I’ve ever seen and shortly, I’ll sign the biggest check I’ve ever signed in my life. I negotiated the price. But when they handed me the order, I kind of gulped.”

Jeff Bentley, of Carrollton, has been attending races at TMS for more than 10 years and said the improvement is logical.

“The biggest TV should be in Texas,” Bentley said. “I’m glad it’s beating out the Cowboys. I just appreciate TMS and what they give the fans. They always try to make the experience better for the fans.”

The board, which will be on the TMS backstretch, will be 218 feet wide and 94.6 feet tall. It will weigh more than 108 tons.

Construction will begin after the AAA Texas 500 NASCAR tripleheader weekend Oct. 31-Nov. 3 and the project will be completed before the 2014 racing schedule begins in April.

The screen is not without some concerns. It will face due west, meaning the glare will have to be overcome. Gossage said that shouldn’t be a problem.

“How bright is it? The sun will set on it every day,” Gossage said. “And so it has to be bright enough that it will be visible. It’s real bright.”

The screen also is engineered to withstand 120 mph wind and is waterproof.

As with the Cowboys’ board, fans will have to concentrate to avoid watching the race on the big screen rather than on the track.

“I do have a concern that I’ll end up watching the TV more than the race,” Bentley said. “I know they have that trouble at AT&T Stadium. But it’ll enhance the experience. And we’ll get replays. There will be no problems now. We shouldn’t miss anything.”

Gossage said track leadership is discussing what to do with backstretch seating. Either an 18-by-24-foot screen will be constructed on the inside part of the backstretch for their viewing or there is a chance backstretch seating will be removed … The new video board is expected to bring in other events, such as car shows and the like. At least one other major event has already been confirmed, Gossage said.

“It has all kinds of benefits,” he Gossaage said. “There’s another event that we’re going to announce in the next month or so. And part of it is because of the Big Hoss. So there’s another event that’s already presented itself in part because of [the screen]. All kinds of events will use this screen. The one in Charlotte is on more days than it’s not.”

Schedule released: TMS once again will be the eighth race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2014, but also will tweak its schedule to accommodate the NCAA Final Four and make a variation to its annual Indy Car race.

The 2014 schedule opens with the Texas 500 NASCAR doubleheader weekend April 3-6. The Nationwide Series race will be Friday, April 4. The Sprint Cup race will be Sunday afternoon, April 6 to avoid a conflict with the NCAA semifinals at AT&T Stadium on April 5.

After runningon Saturday evening the last three years, this is expected to be a one-time shift to Sunday afternoon.

On June 5-7, the track will host the NASCAR/INDYCAR doubleheader with the Camping World Truck Series Winstar World Casino and Resort 400 on June 6, followed by the Firestone 600 IndyCar Series race, which will be extended 50 kilometers from 2013.

From Oct. 30 to Nov. 2, TMS will have the eighth race in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup. The AAA Texas 500 will run Nov. 2, with O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge race on Nov. 1 and the Camping World Truck Series racing on Oct. 31.

Briefly: TMS will be better served by more than $33 million in road improvements in and around the facility. Of that, $18 million will be used for widening Highway 114.